Oktoberfest 2009

Greg wrote the following post about his experience at Oktoberfest this year and I just might have to write my side of the story next. ;-)

“I’ll see you at the U-bahn station exit.” Those were the famous last words exchanged by Ayelet and I before we parted ways on the sidewalk and took separate modes of transportation to Oktoberfest. My train went through 5 neighborhood stations on our way to Theresienweise. You always know you are going the right direction to a festival when the people wearing dirndls and lederhosen increases rapidly at each stop, then suddenly pours out onto the platform. After climbing the steep stairs to the subway exit and observing the blank stares of the festival goers who spent the day drinking, I knew I was in the right place. So where was Ayelet?

I stood by the exit, pacing back and forth. I scouted the best place to see her riding up on her bike. People were passing by the hundreds looking to find a beer. Every glimpse I caught of a red shirt drew my eye as I knew that was the color Ayelet was wearing. At this point you are thinking to yourself, ‘Greg, it is 2009, why don’t you just call her?’ Well readers, as I see 95% of my friends at school, I have given up having a cell phone in Germany. ‘Oh.’ Back on the lookout, I waited over an hour before heading to the other U-bahn station in hopes of finding my wife among the thousands in the crowd. Along the way, I often found myself distracted by the games, rides, and giant figures by haunted houses that mesmerized crowds.

My time was running short and the sun was going down. I had a party to attend to in the Hacker Brewery tent and had to give up my search for Ayelet. Upon arrival at my table, I joined my coworkers for a bird’s eye view of a few thousand Oktoberfestians standing on tables while singing and dancing the night away. I was treated to a feast of a bird (1/2 a chicken), a brezen (giant pretzel), and a liter of beer. Anyone up for 2010?